Toddler Time

I realized this weekend that I no longer exist in real time, I now live in toddler time{and sometimes husband weekend time}. Most of the time this works out just fine, except for when we have to enter into real time, then we can have some problems. I woke up this Saturday with a plan of a yummy breakfast and a trip to Costco, then a nap and maybe dinner out. Here's what happened.... My little man had stayed up late Friday night, since as I mentioned he runs on toddler time, so he randomly changes his nap time and sleeping patterns. Since he was up late he slept in, don't get me wrong it was great to get the extra sleep, but it seems to be a lot harder to get going if you get a late start. Okay, I am back on track, it is 10:30 and my little man and I are ready for our Costco trip.... but there's Daddy, watching TV on the couch, still in his PJ's. This is where Daddy weekend time comes in. Daddy works hard all week so on Saturday's he likes to relax. This is fine, I am all for relaxing....but can't you relax during nap time? I don't think he realizes how short our window of opportunity has become for our trip out, my little man is only in a GREAT mood for so long before it gets too close to nap time to attempt to do anything outside the house. I figure he can just throw on some clothes and we'll be out the door in no time, but no, he still has to shower.... okay. Well, once he takes his shower and is ready it is lunch time. So I make my little man some mac and cheese and I have a salad. Then I realize I need to clean up the kitchen, how it got so messy from when I cleaned on Friday baffles me, but none the less it needs to be cleaned. My little man plays with Daddy while I do the dishes and wipe down the counters. Then we need to walk the dog, and since it is so nice out I decide not to rush my little man as he searches for the perfect rock. By the time we get back in and I look at the clock it is almost 2:30. Uh oh.... nap time is fast approaching, there is no way we are going out before my little guy takes his nap. So I put little man down for his nap and pick up the disaster of a living room. As I watch the time go by I realize I am not going to even get to Costco today, it is already 4:30 and they close at 6{since Costco runs in real time they won't stay open late because of a long nap, darn}. My little guy doesn't wake up until almost 5, so one, we aren't going to Costco, and 2, he will be up late again. We decide to grab some dinner at Buffalo Wild Wings, for some reason my little man always sits still there and eats lots of food, I assume it is because it is so loud, and all the big TV's can't hurt. we get there and there is a 45 minute wait, we don't do waits over ten minutes, it just doesn't work with a 16 month old. So we head across the street to test our luck at Johnny Carinos. No wait, this is good, but my little guy refuses to sit in the high chair. I should mention for the past couple of days my little man has decided he needs Mommy ALL the time, Mommy can't do anything alone, and he would prefer to always have me hold him, if I refuse then his legs turn to jello and I have to lay him on the floor. Anyway, I decide to just let him sit in my lap. I think everything is about to fall apart, but then the soup comes, wow does little man want that soup, I think the whole restaurant knew he wanted it. We let it cool down and decide to just give him a spoon and let him go for it, if it makes him happy and keeps him quiet we are all for it. We are able to eat our meals in peace { my nice jeans were now covered in Minestrone, but it was worth it} I can't believe how fast our Saturday had gone by, we ended the day with some ice cream I shouldn't be eating, a bath for little man { where he did something for the first time... pooped in the tub....that was great} and then it was off to bed. Daddy and I got to watch a movie before we called it a night, so I guess even though toddler time and Daddy weekend time threw us off, we still had a good day. On Sunday I was up at 6 am. You guessed it I was off to get my paper. I was able to look through all the coupons, clip any I was saving, and make my shopping list all before anyone else woke up. I am usually not a fan of waking up early, but it sure is nice how much more day I feel like I get when I do it. With the house clean, my coupons organized, and everyone ready to go, we finally head off to Costco.{just a day late} I only wanted to buy meat, refried beans, and chips there, but I knew that wasn't happening. And I couldn't resist the GIANT strawberries I found, they were huge, and every time we have gotten strawberries at Costco they have been great, so I had to have them. Once we spend too much and come home I put little man down for a nap and head off to do my shopping.... I didn't do too well, I mean it was better than not using coupons. I saved 52 % so I shouldn't complain, but I felt like I should've done better, that's what I get for watching that Extreme Couponing show. That night we make a nice steak dinner at home and watch some cartoons. As my son woke me up at 6 am today I was very happy that I lived on toddler time, since I knew on this particular day, we didn't need to enter real time, we didn't have to be at work, didn't have to get anywhere before it closed, or even a reason to get out of our PJs {we did, but it was nice knowing we didn't Have to} I am happy to live in the ever changing world of toddler time, and will just have to deal with it when we have to be at work by a certain time, or try and get to the store before 9. I feel my body is already used to the changing sleep patterns, I just need to get better about getting out the door in time when we HAVE to go. It's funny because I used to be very punctual, but in the land of toddler time it is hard to keep up my reputation.

Kelly Callahan